Kallio: This is our level at the moment

The Finnish Moto2-rider Mika Kallio was not able to reach his ambitious goals set for Friday’s qualifying practice in the GP of Assen. Kallio’s pace throughout the session had him positioned around places 21 and 22 on the timesheet, but during the final minutes Kallio managed to shave off important tenths of his best lap and ended up in 15th place on the starting grid. The fine performance of the last lap did not lessen Kallio’s disappointment, and the rider was left confused after the session. 

 -I am not sure where the problem lies, or if it is me or the bike who’s not doing what it should. Something is not right, but I have no clue what to make of it any more. This result is not what we expected and we are slowly running out of options to try. This seems to be our level at the moment. We were positive that the good test outcome of last week’s sessions in Aragon would have helped us further develop the bike during this weekend, and I don’t know how we did not succeed better, Kallio wondered. 

 The qualifying practice was yet again very even and Kallio’s time gap to the sixth place finisher was just two tenths of a second. Kallio, who is used to a strong performance level and good results, has suffered one enormous disappointment after another this season. After claiming the world championship silver medal at the end a great season last year, the rider is frustrated due the poor results achieved so far. Even though reaching the 15th starting place on the grid is a clear improvement from the few previous races, it did not satisfy Kallio.

-There is no use in comparing our times to those of slower riders, because I care of nothing else but the lap times of the leading group. When I look at the data, it is visible that I get most grief from the braking when entering a turn and I lose a lot of time there.This is due to the lack of grip and trust towards the front. My riding style might not fit the tyres used this season, so it is a tricky situation, Kallio sighed. 

 It is clear to see that Kallio has lost some of the enjoyment riding normally brings to him, as he is struggling to find cooperation with his bike this season. 

 -At the moment riding feels quite horrible, as every time I enter a turn, I am not sure what my bike’s front will do. I have watched closely my team mate Morbidelli, who was normally on positions 5-10 in qualifyings last year. Today he is in grid square 20, so I am not the only one with current issues. It is a shame, Kallio continued. 

Kallio does not set great expectations for tomorrows race, even though he has been known to ride well in races and fight his way up towards the front many times when starting at the back of the grid. 

 -We’ll definitely try out some small changes for tomorrow’s warm up, but I know that in the race it is a long way to the top and the front guys tend to disappear quite quickly from those stuck in traffic in the start. Let’s see what tomorrow brings and at least I will give my absolute everything, Kallio finished.

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